Belle Plaine Bread - Care Instructions

I love knowing how to keep things delicious.

Lizzard Loves warm Belle Plaine Bread ready to be delivered

Which is why I want to share how to treat the bread I bake.

Here are the Care Instructions for all varieties of Belle Plaine Bread:

When you get your bread home: Dive right in, if you're hungry! If you can, I recommend toasting your bread ever so slightly. Slice it, toast it in your toaster/toaster oven for a minute or so. If you want to eat/serve the whole loaf: preheat your oven to 300 and warm your bread for 10-20 minutes. Why? Because I stand against room temperature carbs. I think almost any baked good type carb is better warmed up, even slightly. I like the crust to be crispy/crusty (its right there in the name, it should be crusty!). I like my butter/peanut butter/jam/almond butter to get ooey gooey. Its just more delicious. Did I mention cheese? Melty* cheese is better, in almost ever case. Warm bread = melty cheese. I respect if you want to tear into your bread immediately. I'm not judging; I do think that you'll like the bread even more if you eat it warmed up.

Short term storage: Keep your bread out on your counter (cut side down) for 3-5 days as you slice and enjoy it. You can also keep it in the paper bag it came in. Do not store your bread in plastic, it traps moisture, which is the enemy of crispy crust! Your bread will likely become soggy & is much more susceptible to mold (yuck). What, you ask, should I do if my bread feels too hard to eat? Warm it in the oven (at 300 degrees for 15-30 minutes depending on the size of the piece of bread) then slice & enjoy! Toasting the bread will have the same effect - it softens the bread & brings it back to life when you fear you’ve left it out too long.

The paper bag the bread comes in is perfect for short term storage

Long term storage: You can freeze your bread if you are not planning on eating it right away. Leave the bread in the paper bag it came in, then double bag it in plastic zip top bags; to ensure the bread doesn’t taste like your freezer when you are ready to eat it (yuck). When it comes time to eat your bread: remove it from all the packaging and let it defrost overnight on your counter top. Alternatively, preheat your oven to 325 and warm the frozen loaf for 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven). If you have a partial loaf, it will thaw/warm more quickly; 15-20 minutes.

I hope you enjoy your bread. I promise I enjoyed baking it for you! Please do feel free to share your experiences with your bread in the comments. It is great to hear how others eat their bread. Also - feel free to refute my advice above. Any feedback is good feedback!

Lizzard Loves multiple loaves of BPB's Multigrain bread

*People who would like to split hairs will point out that "melty" is not a word. I get it. I don't care. It should be.